Developments and Social Problems

Research with the Locus of Control Construct, Volume 2: Developments and Social Problems seeks to contribute towards explaining the nomological network in which the locus of control construct is embedded. In studying the antecedents, concomitants, and far-reaching ramifications of the construct we can come to see its meaning more clearly.
The book is organized into three parts. Part I pertains to one realm of locus of control research that is of signal interest to psychologists concerned with personality research and theory. If locus of control is an important predictor of behavior, then we should know something about its origins and the role it plays at different stages of the life span. The chapters in the first part aid in the development of such a life-span approach to locus of control research. Part II focuses on applications to two clinical-social problems: marital instability and alcoholism. Part III explores the use of locus of control as a moderator variable. Here, the response to particular situational constraints or milieu characteristics is evaluated vis-à-vis status on locus of control variables. In this way it becomes possible to speak of the specific effects of therapy or educational procedures upon persons who vary in personality characteristics such as locus of control, in much the way that the advocates of interactionism have always advised.

Contenu

List of Contributors
Preface
1 Introduction
Part I: Early Research Programs
Part II: Application to Social Problems
Part III: Locus of Control as a Moderator Variable
References
I An Update on Early Research Programs
2 The Nowicki-Strickland Life-Span Locus of Control Scales: Construct Validation
Children's Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale
Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal-External Control Scale: College and Noncollege Forms
Locus of Control in Different Cultures
Nowicki-Strickland (NS) Scale Scores, Personality, and Social Interaction
Locus of Control and Academic Achievement
Locus of Control and Physical Health and Functioning
NS Locus of Control and Abnormality
Antecedents of and Attempts to Change NS Locus of Control
Conclusions and Comments
References
3 Maternal and Childhood Behaviors as Antecedents of Internal-External Control Perceptions in Young Adulthood
Procedure
Results and Discussion
Implications of the Antecedent Data for Development of Internal Control in Adulthood
References
II Applications to Clinical Problems
4 Control Orientation, Drinking Behavior, and Alcoholism
Introduction
Control Orientation and Alcohol Use
Control Orientation and Psychological Functioning among Alcoholics
Control Orientation and Alcoholism Treatment
The Drinking-Related Locus of Control Scale
Locus of Drinking Problems Scale
Summary and Discussion
References
5 Locus of Control and Marital Interaction
Introduction
Review of Personality and Marriage Research and Theory
Strategies for Building a Theoretical Linkage between Personality and Marriage
A Theoretical Model Linking Locus of Control and Marriage
Review of the Research on Locus of Control and the Marital Relationship
Conclusion
References
III Locus of Control as a Moderator Variable
6 Person x Environment Interaction and Locus of Control: Laboratory, Therapy, and Classroom Studies
Introduction
Locus of Control and Interactional Research
Laboratory Studies: Theory-Based Research on Locus of Control x Situation Interactions
Locus of Control x Behavior Change Interactions
Locus of Control and Classroom Control
Conclusions and Future Research Directions
References
7 The Locus of Control as a Moderator Variable: Stress
Introduction
Research Concerned with Stress
Field Studies of Stress and Control
Scale-Assessed Stress and Control
Conclusion
References
8 Epilog
References
Author Index
Subject Index